Golden Eagle Photography Hide
As can be seen on our website, we offer trips to a carefully selected range of bird photography hides, all within very easy reach of Valencia. These sessions are suitable for all levels of photographer, from casual beginner to expert, and offer the opportunity to capture stunning images of some magnificent wild birds in their natural surroundings. I recently provided a trip to the Golden Eagle hide which is located in the highlands of the interior of Valencia, but easily reached within around 60 minutes drive of the city centre, making for a very comfortable day. After a couple of…
2 days birding and a cultural break in Valencia
Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Hans and his family from the Netherlands. We had previously spoken about their intended trip to Valencia and they’d decided to include two days birding within their week-long break in the city. Day 1 – Albufera de Valencia. On our first day, we visited the vast wetland site of Albufera de Valencia, less than 30 minutes drive from the city centre. This was their first visit to Albufera, and Hans had previously explained that they would like to include an element of culture and history into the day. With that in mind,…
Osprey Re-introduction Project
Last week I was privileged to spend the evening with my good friend Itzy Colodro Sainz of Magic&Nature who is once again working tirelessly on a project to re-introduce Ospreys to the Valencia region. This project is supported by local government, specifically Conselleria de Medio Ambiente CV and is backed scientifically by Fundación Migres. At a local level, it is also supported by the Town Halls of Pego, Oliva, Denia and Jávea and is collaborated in by Magic&Nature, who also organise volunteer events, and Acció Ecologista Agró. I spent some time with her last year whilst she was working on the same…
Conservation and Protection of Marbled Teal in Alicante
The Valencia region, particularly the extensive coastal wetlands of Alicante have long since been a stronghold for the extremely rare Marbled Teal. Over many years, much work has been done to augment the local populations and to protect this species – the most threatened duck in the whole of Europe. During my fifteen years living and working in Spain, I’ve been fortunate not only to see this bird on many occassions, and to share such special moments with friends and clients, but I’ve witnessed first hand the dedication that goes into protecting it. The Alicante wetlands are one of the…
A stormy day at the Valencian Coastal Wetlands
Last week, just before moving to our home in the mountains for the coming months, I had the pleasure of providing another trip for Jeff and Dee. They had previously been on a trip to Albufera de Valencia with me and this time wanted to visit another of the area’s wetlands. The weather had been quite stormy during the week and the day of the trip was also a little unsettled, so based on the forecast, we opted to begin a little later than planned to allow the rain to pass through first. Having met in central Valencia, we were…
A Spring Day on the Steppe
As part of this trip crosses the border between the Valencian Community and Castilla la Mancha, it’s been a while since we’ve been able to enjoy it as regions had previously closed their boundaries as a Covid security measure. It was therefore with much anticipation and eagerness that John and I made the trip up onto the steppe, beginning the day with a coffee in a village bar that for obvious reasons we’d not been to for a long time. It was good to see the owner again and to catch up on what’s been going on. As we drank…